Tuesday, November 30, 2010

After 40 years of coaching, Charlotte Latin football coach Larry McNulty has finally decided to stop.

McNulty announced his retirement Tuesday. He'll work through the end of the school year and coach track this spring.

McNulty led his team to its eighth straight N.C. Independent Schools state football championship appearance last month and won more than 200 games.

"He's one of the most fantastic men and most talented coaches I've ever been around," Latin athletics director Jimmy Broadway said. "How to replace him? I don't even want to face trying to replace Larry McNulty."

Broadway said the school would begin a search for a replacement in January, saying he hoped to have a new coach in place by Feb. 1.

McNulty was unavailable for comment. His teams won 11 state championships, including five of the past eight. Over the past three seasons, his girls track teams have won three state titles and the boys have won two.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Tuesday, November 30East Burke at Freedom
Country Day at ParkwoodForsyth Country Day at Charlotte Christian
Monroe at Piedmont
Piedmont at Monroe
Patton at Draughn
Myers Park at Hopewell
Hickory at Newton-Conover
Northside Christian at Gaston Christian
Providence at Sun Valley
Robinson at Carson
Ardrey Kell at Catholic
Fort Mill, SC at Belmont South Point
Charlotte Latin at Covenant Day
at Parkwood HS
Robinson at Carson
Cox Mill at North Meck
Concord First Assembly at Westchester
East Gaston at Ashbrook
Concord at E. Rowan
Patton at Draughn
East Burke at Freedom
Statesville Christian at East Gaston
East Mecklenburg at Mallard Creek
West Henderson at East Rutherford
Fort Mill at South Point (NC)
E. Gaston at Ashbrook
Northside Christian at Gaston Christian
Harding at Rocky River
Hunter Huss at Marvin Ridge (V only)
Pine Lake at Grace
Metrolina at Hickory Grove
Bandys at St. Stephens
Myers Park at Hopewell
Independence at West Charlotte
West Stanly at Forest Hills
South Rowan at A.L. Brown
Shelby at Kings Mountain
Statesville at Lake Norman
Maiden at Lincolnton
East Meck at Mallard Creek
Hunter Huss at Marvin Ridge Metrolina Christian at Hickory Grove
Cox Mill at North Mecklenburg
North Stanly at Central Davidson
Providence at Sun Valley Queens Grant at Victory Christian
Rock Hill South Pointe at Clover
Harding at Rocky River
Berry at Cuthbertson
Weddington at Buford
Westminster Catawba at Spartanburg Day
West Caldwell at S. Caldwell
Independence at West Charlotte
S. Iredell at West Iredell
Statesville at Lake Norman
West Lincoln at Fred t. Foard
West Stanly at Forest Hills
Butler at Vance
SouthLake Christian at HP Christian

Games on Monday, Nov. 29
Anson Senior at Hough
Bessemer City at Belmont South Point
East Rowan at Robinson
Forest Hills at Porter Ridge
Monroe at Parkwood
Olympic at South Mecklenburg
Southlake Christian at Hickory Grove
Sun Valley at Hickory Ridge
United Faith at Flora Macdonald

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Butler coach Mike Newsome said he expects an “intense” atmosphere when his team plays an N.C. 4AA quarterfinal at Richmond Senior Friday.

“It’s like I was telling the kids the other day, there’s more people from Richmond County than from Charlotte, probably, with us being such a transient town,” Newsome said. “They’reTheir families are coming home. Ours are leaving. People will want to go by and see the game. It’s the only game in town.”

“You have to play assignment football,” Newsome said, “and you’re always worried if someone will miss an assignment or try to take someone elseselse’s. And the athletes they have running that offense is the biggest thing. I told my kids they tend to get better as the season wears on. In 2008, they were 4-3-1 and won the state championship. We’re going to go down there and have a battle.”

Mallard Creek quarterback Marquise Williams, a national player of the year candidate, hasn’t practiced this week and is questionable to start in Friday’s N.C. 4AA quarterfinal at home against rival Vance.

Williams injured his left ankle early in the second quarter of last week’s 49-23 win over Ardrey Kell. Williams tried to run off the field after he injured himself, but fell down face first. He got up and got off the field. He only missed a few plays and finished the game.

Mavericks coach Mike Palmieri said Williams is able to walk on his ankle, but not able to push off well. Williams did not practice Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.

A 6-foot-4, 220-pound senior, Williams has throw for 3,034 yards and 45 touchdowns against just eight interceptions. He’s competed nearly 70 percent of his passes. He also has 1,147 yards rushing and 19 scores.

“He’s a little sore,” Palmieri said. “He’s just day-to-day. We don’t know for sure if he’ll play or not. We’ll make a decision at gametime with him.”

If Williams doesn’t start for the nationally ranked Mavericks, 5-11, 200-pound junior Zay Laster will start. With Laster, Mallard Creek might rely more on its run game, where Jela Duncan (95 carries, 1,208 yards, 15 TDs) and Aaron McNeely (55-622, 9 TDs), both average more than 10 yards per carry.

“We’re confident with Zay,” Palmieri said. “Zay’s been put in a lot of games. We’ll got with what we’ve got. And Marquise, in his mind, is playing. It’ll be my decision, for what’s best for the kid and the program. The good thing is we have no school and he’s getting theraphy. I just held him out of practice because I didn’t want to take a chance. He doesn’t need to practice to play. He knows what we’re doing.”

After an internal review and discussion at the school level, South Brunswick High School elected to withdraw its appeal to the Executive Committee of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association relative to ejections of football players at last week's NCHSAA playoff game.

By NCHSAA rules, "Teams in the following situations will not be allowed to participate in the playoffs: --a team whose players or coaches accumulate three or more individual ejections for fighting...if a team hits either threshold (total ejections or ejections for fighting) during the playoffs, it will be disqualified from further participation in the playoffs."

South Brunswick is therefore disqualified from further participation in the playoffs and their scheduled opponent, Havelock, will be open this Friday night and advances to the next round.

Monday, November 22, 2010

South Brunswick High School defeated Southern Wayne on Friday night in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 3-A football playoffs, but in the game South Brunswick was assessed three ejections for fighting.

By NCHSAA rules, "Teams in the following situations will not be allowed to participate in the playoffs: --a team whose players or coaches accumulate three or more individual ejections for fighting...if a team hits either threshold (total ejections or ejections for fighting) during the playoffs, it will be disqualified from further participation in the playoffs."

South Brunswick is appealing the decision based on that rule to the NCHSAA Executive Committee on Tuesday morning, so there is no resolution to the situation yet. We will keep you advised of further developments.

Bailey, who turned 16 in November, is a National Honor Society student. She has a 4.64 GPA. She and her family moved from New York when Gigi was 6. She started at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in second grade and was moved up to third grade during the school year, Kim Bailey said, because teachers said they couldn't challenge her anymore.

When Gigi transferred to Charlotte Christian two years ago, she would've naturally been a ninth grader. She had finished Mint Hill Middle School. Kim Bailey said the family chose to reclass Gigi as an eighth grader to help her socially.

"We just felt she needed to be back in her normal grade," Kim Bailey said. "She needed that extra year."

Bailey was all-Charlotte Observer in Mecklenburg County as a freshman.